Four days before Erfurt’s car show opened, the federal government announced a new bonus for private buyers of electric cars. On the Ehrhardt stand a dark purple Volkswagen ID.3 already wore a pink sticker: “Bis zu 6000 € BAFA-Elektro-Prämie. Sprechen Sie uns an.” On the show days, nobody could yet apply.
The price of small cars came up at the opening too. Thuringia’s minister-president Mario Voigt said there are “nur noch ganz wenige Kleinwagen, die unter 15.000 Euro kosten” (Autohaus), and the windscreen stickers read against that background.
Who Actually Gets €6,000
The federal environment ministry (BMUKN) announced the programme on Monday 19 January. It covers private buyers of new cars first registered on or after 1 January 2026.
For a battery-electric car the base amount is €3,000. Households with taxable income up to €60,000 get €1,000 more, those up to €45,000 a further €1,000, and there is €500 per child for up to two children. The income ceiling is €80,000, rising by €5,000 per child to €90,000.
So the sticker’s “up to €6,000” is the legal ceiling, and only households with income up to €45,000 and two or more children reach it. A childless buyer with an income between €60,001 and €80,000 gets the base €3,000.
“BAFA-Elektro-Prämie” is loose wording too: BAFA pays, but the ministry owns the programme. We read the sticker as accurate about the maximum and silent about who qualifies, which is what “sprechen Sie uns an” invites.
The portal was expected in May, with applications allowed retroactively. It opened on 19 May 2026, run by BAFA with a BundID login (BAFA, 19 May 2026). By 5 October the ministry reported 100,000 approved applications, about 90 per cent of them for electric cars.
Volkswagen runs a separate “ID. Kaufprämie”. On 15 October 2026 volkswagen.de showed up to €4,000 on the ID.3 Neo, valid to 31 December. The car on the stand is the earlier ID.3, which ADAC lists at €33,330 to €46,630.
Kia Priced By The Month
Auto Möller’s Kia stand had the show’s clearest price language. Five cars wore windscreen placards headed “Aktion”. The XCeed read “ab € 145,- mtl.”, the Ceed Sportswagon €219 and the Sportage €209. The EV4, “bis zu 625 km”, was at €269 and the EV5, “bis zu 530 km”, at €469.
The placards state no term, mileage or deposit. That makes them dealer offers, not list prices, and they cannot be compared. Hang-tags titled “Starter Deals” carry details we did not read.
The EV2, A Fortnight After Brussels
The more interesting car stood beside them. A light-blue Kia carried a windscreen sign reading “Deutschlandpremiere. Der neue Kia EV2.” Kia had unveiled the EV2 on 9 January at the Brussels Motor Show, two weeks earlier (electrive, 9 January 2026).
Autohaus’s closing report lists Kia among the premiere exhibitors without naming a model. We cannot say whether this was the first showing in Germany, only that the dealer called it one. We look at how regional shows use that word in a separate report.
The EV2 is 4.06 metres long, with a 42.2 or 61 kWh battery and up to 317 or 448 km of range on Kia’s preliminary figures. German orders opened in March at €26,600 for the four-seat Light, and the range runs to €37,190 for the four-seat GT-Line (electrive, 17 March 2026).
For the cars on monthly rates, ADAC’s catalogue lists the EV4 hatchback at €37,590 to €49,440 and the EV5 at €45,990 to €52,990, plus €55,990 for the all-wheel-drive EV5 added in July. Kia’s German site gives 625 km as the EV4’s best figure and 530 km as the EV5’s. More of Kia’s electric range is in our round-up of its regional stands.
Ehrhardt, Schade And The Thuringian Ford Dealers
The plates in our photographs read Ehrhardt on the Volkswagen, Audi and Cupra cars, Schade on an Xpeng, and Auto Möller on every Kia. Autohaus quoted Ehrhardt’s Alexander Beyer calling the show “unsere wichtigste Veranstaltung.”
A teal Audi Q3 sat on Ehrhardt’s floor. ADAC lists the third generation at €44,600 to €61,400.
A grey Ford Mustang stood on the Thuringian Ford dealers’ stand. ADAC lists the fastback at €62,400 to €78,500.
Schade’s stand showed a black Xpeng SUV, either the G6 or the G9. Xpeng’s German site (15 October 2026) lists the G6 from €43,600 and the G9 from €59,600.
We filmed the Mustang GT convertible at Automobilmesse Erfurt 2026. Our Ford Mustang GT Convertible Up Close article has the full story.
The Premieres Autohaus Named
Autohaus named a few cars with specific wording. The Jeep Compass at Autohaus Peter “feiert seine Deutschlandpremiere”, the Suzuki e Vitara was “hier erstmals in Europa öffentlich zu sehen”, and the Volvo ES90 was “erstmals in Thüringen öffentlich vorgestellt”.
None of those cars is in our photographs, so we repeat the labels as Autohaus reported them and do not vouch for them.
Eighteen Editions, Three Halls And A Drift Show
The 18th Automobilmesse Erfurt ran from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 January 2026 at Messe Erfurt, organised by Messe Erfurt GmbH. A day ticket cost €15 (Autohaus, 23 January 2026). We were there on the Friday and the Saturday.
Halls 1 and 2 held the dealers’ current ranges and Hall 3 a stage. Outdoors there were drift shows and a new offroad course.
Autohaus counted “über 100 Aussteller und 42 Marken” on opening day and “mehr als 140 Aussteller” in its closing report, which gave “rund 30.000” visitors. That is the organiser’s figure, relayed by Autohaus, with no counting method.
Automobilmesse Erfurt 2026 at a glance
| Dates | 23 to 25 January 2026 |
| Venue | Messe Erfurt, Gothaer Straße 34, Erfurt |
| Visitors | about 30,000, according to the organiser (as reported by Autohaus) |
| Edition | 18th |
| Brands | 42 |
| Exhibitors | more than 140 (Autohaus closing report) |
| Organiser | Messe Erfurt GmbH |
Source: Autohaus, 23 and 26 January 2026.
Read The Windscreen, Then Ask
Erfurt is a dealer show, and its most useful evidence is on the windscreens. The bonus sticker was right about the ceiling, and the EV2 sign shows that a regional premiere is the dealer’s word, a fortnight after Kia unveiled the car in Brussels.
If you are buying with the federal bonus in mind, work out your own amount from household income and children before you talk to the dealer. The sticker gives only the top of the scale.
Independent editorial. No brand or organiser paid for or reviewed this article.
